Pogačar no longer worrying about UAE’s Tour de France selection: ‘He is the only question mark’

Tadej Pogacar does not need to worry about the support around him for the Tour de France at UAE Emirates-XRG, team boss Mauro Gianetti told IDL Pro Cycling. The Slovenian world champion will be excellently protected in the Tour, after UAE had been hit by crashes and injuries in the first half of 2026.

UAE Emirates-XRG have seen riders crash very often this season, with the Giro d’Italia naturally the best example. In one crash, Marc Soler, Adam Yates and Jay Vine all dropped out. The millionaire squad, however, is not short of options. Pogacar will have excellent support in the mountains from Isaac del Toro, who recently won the Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes overall by a clear margin, including two stage wins.

Brandon McNulty showed superb form alongside stage winner Pogacar in the opening stage of the Tour of Switzerland. And Tim Wellens, Florian Vermeersch and Nils Politt will also be ready for their role. Who else will go is not yet known. Adam Yates may be an option, but Felix Grossschartner, who has been riding strongly in Switzerland, could also be in contention.

“The team is working well, we are making progress and our riders are in good condition,” Gianetti said after Pogacar’s stage win in northern Italy. “Joxean Matxin will decide who goes to the Tour, but João Almeida seems to be the only question mark. He has not recovered well from a virus, so we do not expect him in July. His recovery is more important, and the rest of the team is in good shape.”

Whoever lines up around Pogacar in July, the world champion will ultimately have to do it himself. Gianetti saw in stage 1 of the Tour de Suisse that this is well in hand. “We know the numbers from training, but when you pin on a race number, you still look for confirmation. It was not the plan to attack so far out, but we did want to control the race.”

“We wanted to win and take the leader’s jersey, and test the condition. But then he just went,” said the Swiss, who saw Pogacar launch a 70-kilometre solo. “We knew it was not an ideal day to try anything, but this race is only five days long, so we wanted to seize our chances. Tadej was happy with his effort, on a hot and demanding day. I think he found all the answers he was looking for.”

Gianetti naturally did not see the fact that the competition seemed to quickly accept Pogacar’s solo as a problem. “It was what it was, and in the end Tadej did what he has done so many times before. He took the situation as it was. In the group behind, of course, there was some poker-playing going on. Tadej is an asset to the sport because he always puts on a show.”

“He gives something to the people and not only wins, he wins with panache,” Gianetti added, once again stressing that Pogacar should not be taken for granted as an athlete. Even when he is so dominant that the competition almost seems too afraid to attack. “We are seeing something special, and the riders in the peloton know it too. They have respect for Tadej.”

Still, a fifth and record-breaking Tour de France victory in July is no certainty. “The Tour de France is not a calculator. The level is very high now, but we need to see Tadej in the Tour first. He still has three weeks to grow there. Jonas Vingegaard? He knows exactly who Tadej is and he is working hard to be his best self. But so are we.”